


As a Lamb to the Slaughter

by Overthinkerwrites



Category: Ava's Demon
Genre: AU, Angst, Ending Fic, F/F, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 04:44:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7999039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Overthinkerwrites/pseuds/Overthinkerwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the war against Titan grows desperate, Ava Ire makes a decision that does not sit well with anyone. Especially Maggie Lacivi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Maggie had overheard.

Ava and Odin had gotten into a heated fracas once their intelligence had revealed the precise location of Titan himself, surrounded by his most powerful of Followers. 

Odin wanted to smuggle in a tactical device to the neighboring sun and make the system go nova. 

Ava wanted to enter by herself and cut off the head of the snake. She had stated that she had too much innocent blood on her hands and wanted to end the war then and there. 

They had disagreed. 

Odin had left the room in a huff and Maggie, still hidden in the background as she watched Ava peering over the intelligence, as if she were to memorize them. 

It left a uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. 

Her fears were proven true when she had caught Ava sneaking into the hangar of the cruiser that had, more or less, become their home for the past four years. 

“You’re going, aren’t you?” Maggie had asked, far more timidly than she would have ever admitted. 

Gone was the angry, temperamental, and aggressive Maggie Lacivi that had been at odds with Ava since that horrid day when the Silent Scavengers had ravaged their homeworld. In her place, after learning of all the horrible things Wrathia Bellarmina had done to sabotage their relationship, was a young woman who was more scared of being alone than anything else. 

Ava had saved her from failing her pact when the last flower had nearly died. And after a long and grueling reconciliation, the affection they once shared had resurfaced. The worst part of it was when Maggie realized that Ava never did warrant that last flower. It made her feel sick and ill at ease with herself when she recalled all the cruel things she had said about Ava. 

“I am,” Ava answered without looking at her. 

She was in her Vengess state. Over the years, her powers had grown beyond the scope of even Wrathia’s ability and it showed in the second pair of horns, the gold threads that now covered the scars she once had, and the orbiting spheres that accompanied the halos that established herself as the Heavenly Flame. 

Maggie looked down as her lip started to quiver. “Please… please don’t.” 

Ava turned to her, calm as the dawn. 

Maggie failed to fight the tears in her eyes as she looked up. “I lost you once… I don’t think I could take it if… if…”

The Heavenly Flame smiled at her. “You won’t.”

That wasn’t good enough. That picture, hanging still on the inside of her Door of Lust, frayed and aged as it was, still had the color and life to it. She had shown it to Ava once they started talking again. Ava had burst into tears, because she had lost her copy of that picture and her memory was all that she had of it. To see Maggie still holding the original meant more than she would have realized. 

“You don’t know that!” Maggie shot back. Her illusion of strength dispelled, she quickly closed the distance and held Ava as desperately as she could, as though she had the power to make her stay, nevermind the fact they were both the same height now. 

“How do I know you’ll come back to me?!” she sobbed into Ava’s hair. 

Ava’s arms then wrapped around Maggie’s waist as she whispered back, “You don’t. But that’s ok, you know why?”

“Why?”

“You’re strong, Maggie. You were always strong. That’s one of the reasons why I liked you so much growing up.”

“No!” Maggie let go and stepped backward. “I’m not! I never was! I’m a sham! If I didn’t have Tuls, I’d be…”

“You’re wrong, Maggie,” Ava admonished gently as she closed the distance between them and took Maggie’s hands in her own. “And stopping the war is not the only reason why I’m going.”

Maggie blinked to get the tears out of her face when Ava leaned in and placed her forehead against her own. The skin was warm and it calmed Maggie as the heat transferred from Ava to herself. 

“Because I've always loved you. And Titan knows it.” Ava appeared slightly embarrassed admitting that, however, the slight blush and smile was all Maggie needed to know she was sincere. 

The moisture in Maggie’s eyes returned in force as she couldn’t tell if she should be overjoyed or devastated as Ava let go.

For possibly the last time. 

Either way, seeing Ava turn from her and transform into a flame that could exist and travel through the cold void of space and vanish, left Maggie in ruin as she fell to her knees.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a slaughter.

 

The planetary defenses of Titan’s homeworld had been breached in flames that consumed anything and anyone foolish enough to stand in Ava’s way.

 

By the time the rest of the Deadly Sinners had reached Ava’s location, the capital city lay in ruins, the infrastructure demolished, and scavengers traveling everywhere to find some sense of order they once knew.

 

It gave them the chance to retrieve Ava, despite having the ability to move by herself, if she had succeeded, then they needed to regroup and watch Titan’s empire crumble in the power vacuum.

 

The devastation of the city gave them disorder, which allowed them the chance to search for their leader and friend.

 

Odin, Maggie, and Gil, using the debris and thoroughly wrecked buildings as cover, sneaked through the city, their feet crunching on gravel as they walked.

 

“You think she succeeded?” Gil asked, watching their backs as they moved forward.

 

“I h-hope so,” Odin replied, noting how quiet Maggie was. “W-we were all s-supposed to take him down. N-not like this.”

 

“Alright,” Gil said as they entered the ruins of what was once a house, “we all have an hour to find her. Our escape shuttles going to be at the drop zone we came in, and if we don’t find her before then…” he paused and turned to Maggie, who appeared worse for wear.

 

Ava’s departure had taken a lot out of her and she clutched her hands tightly, hoping that Ava was alright, despite the destruction around them.

 

“We’ll find her,” Maggie whispered. “I… we have to.”

 

Both Gil and Odin nodded in silent acknowledgment and respect for her wishes. She had come to them in tears, frightened for Ava’s safety, informing them of Ava’s plans. Yet, didn’t want to let the rest of their companions know about it. They also said nothing about her current emotional state, since nothing needed to be said.

 

Maggie admitted it was selfish on her part, but she didn’t care. She just wanted Ava safe and away from this world.

 

So, they fanned out as they traversed what was once one of the most busy districts in Titan’s Capital City. The smoldering ruin and the quiet rush of the wind was all that could be heard as they moved forward. It seemed eerie at how silent it was.

 

Each of the hosts had noted that the further inward they went, the brighter the embers of burning objects were. It was growing hotter. There was even pools of molten lava, still waiting to cool, possibly created in the struggle.

 

Maggie’s hands encased in bark and vines strong enough to bend and eat through metal, ready for anything that might attempt to stop them. Maggie was not in the mood for another squad of zealots, screaming for Titan as they died.

 

While her powers had grown with the completion of hers and Tuls’ pact, she missed him. It was difficult to admit, however, she should have known going into it that there would be a time when they would have to part.

 

Her ears perked when she heard a hum growing louder. She pressed forward, ready for anything, only to gasp and nearly fall backward.

 

It was Titan.

 

Or what was left of him.

 

He had to have been at least fifteen feet tall, however, the missing head and most of his torso, burnt and encased in hardened lava, saw him kneeling prostrate in front of a smaller altar. In his remaining hand, his sword, the source of the hum, was thrust forward into something.

 

Dread crept into her as she turned the corner to see.

 

Both Odin and Gil heard Maggie’s anguished cry and quickly ran to their friend to see the cause of the noise.

 

When they reached her, they saw why.

 

Ava, still in her Vengess state, had the point of Titan’s sword, sticking into her diaphragm, pinned against the wall. 

 

She was not moving.

 

“Ava! Ava! Please! Wake up!” Maggie begged as she failed to pull the sword out of her friend.

 

Gil and Odin, rather than trying to silence Maggie, the noise would no doubt give away their position, both moved to the inert body of Titan and shoved the hand that held the sword to the side.

 

Thankfully, it slid out of their friend and she tumbled to the ground, unceremoniously.

 

“The wound’s already cauterized. Thank goodness,” Gil noted as he quickly went to Ava’s other side, as Maggie held Ava’s head in her arms, trying to wake her up still.

 

“Gil, please, is she…” Maggie asked, tears streaming down her face as Gil’s medical tools analyzed Ava.

 

“Her internal temperature’s still high enough that her body’s still functioning. But I can’t help her here, we need to get her back to the ship.”

 

Maggie didn’t need any further convincing as she gathered Ava in her arms as its glow began to fade.

 

*

 

Maggie looked through the glass as Gil and two of the Vengess healers they had recruited in their campaign assisted him in the repair of Ava’s body. Dressed in heavy robes, and a mesh to allow their eyes to see, they used implements that looked more for dissection of one’s enemy that repairing of one’s body.

 

“Vengess are bred for survival in the harshest of environments,” the Vengess Cauterizer informed her, “which means we’re built to survive everything from extreme heat, to blood loss, and everything short of the obvious means of death.”

 

“There’s a ‘but’, in there,” Maggie had asked as they prepared for operation.

 

“Correct. Wrathia’s scion, while technically Vengess, is also still human. Even with her power, Ava Ire’s condition was never made completely clear to us. She could be a hybrid. She could be a half-breed. Either way, we cannot know for sure if our efforts will bring recovery to her. Her core, the one true Vengess organ she gained when she transformed, is in a very precarious state. If she didn’t inherit the natural regeneration properties, or if it is not as strong as a normal vengess’, then her chances of survival are slim.”

 

Maggie paused just before the Cauterizer placed the veil on. “Will she ever wake up?”

 

“Let us hope so, for both our sake,” with silent steps, she left a distraught Maggie alone in the waiting room.

*

Hours upon hours passed.

 

Tools were sterilized, used, and thrown away.

 

Maggie heard Gil and the healers speak in hushed tones as their robes eventually had Ava’s blood upon them. Maggie couldn’t watch when they had to open the wounds to repair the damage and ran back to her room.

 

She held her hands to her face and tried to fight the tears swelling in her eyes. As she curled into a ball on her bed, she sniffed and whispered, “Tuls… where are you? I can’t do this alone…” Eventually, her exhaustion overtook her and she fell into a dreamless sleep, nor did she enter the empty garden of her mind space.

 

More time passed. News of current events passed over her like a breeze and gave not a care for the panic caused at Titan’s demise.

 

A knock at her door jostled her awake.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Maggie, it’s Gil,” he answered on the other side of her door.

 

Her heart raced. Ava didn’t make it. They had failed. No, she had failed. Maggie should have stopped Ava from doing something so foolish.

 

“Come on in,” she muttered loud enough for him to enter.

 

Gil entered slowly, just as tired as she was as he took a seat on the other side of the sparse and barren room.

 

“I wanted to tell you first,” he said as Maggie braced herself for the inevitable.

 

Gil smiled. “She made it. She will pull through. The core was intact and her body is regenerating.”

 

Maggie’s lip started to quiver as she started to sob. She held her hands to her face as she began to cry, to Gil’s surprise. He quickly went to her, “Maggie, what’s wrong?!”

 

In response, she threw her hands around Gil’s shoulders and cried into his shirt.

 

Yes, she was relieved. She was also emotionally spent and unable to endure anything more. After ten full minutes of weeping, she finally let go and whispered, 'thank you.“ She wiped her tears away and asked, "can… can I see her?”

 

“The healers want her body to recover, but if you want to visit her mind, I think they’ll understand.”

 

Maggie smiled. The first time she had smiled in so long.

 

*

 

After much pestering, she had convinced the healers to let her visit Ava’s mind, though her body was in no condition to have visitors. With a chair beside Ava’s bed, she held onto her hand and let herself drift away into the other world.

 

Maggie wandered the garden, without Tuls. It seemed so… she couldn’t come up with the word for it, however, she had to admit, for the times he did tend the forest, it was beautiful. A small part of her had noted that perhaps if she started to tend it, it could be just as beautiful. However, that had to be put to the side for now, as she finally noticed parts of the forest that had cracks with molten lava in it. Ava’s mind was open to hers now!

 

Carefully, she stepped into the crevice and through a tunnel. Sure enough, there was a large number of shelves, full of who knew what, and carefully moved into the shadows where Ava had to be.

 

Yet, the last time she was here, it was also occupied by Wrathia. She frowned at the memory of that awful woman. Now, there was nothing to indicate Wrathia’s presence. It must have meant that their pact was fulfilled. Great! No more Wrathia! Now, they could get on with their lives.

 

She ran down hallways upon hallways, noting that it was becoming more pristine and clean. Not as chaotic as it was before. To her joy, she noticed Ava standing in the middle of the shelves.

 

“Ava!” Maggie cried and started to run towards her.

 

Ava turned to her and blinked. “Hello?”

 

Maggie stopped in her tracks. “Ava?”

 

“A…va?” she asked. “Who’s Ava?”

 

Maggie’s heart dropped.

 

“That name… I’ve heard it before. But I don’t know what it means… Ava. It’s like a distant echo,” she answered in a trance.

 

Maggie began to shake her head. “No… no.” They were so close!

 

“Who are you?”

 

Maggie fought back the pressure in her chest and sniffed once. “I’m… I’m Maggie.” She forced a smile.

 

Ava smiled back to her. “Maggie. That’s a very pretty name. It sounds familiar too. But, it’s stronger. It’s a name I want to remember.”

 

Maggie sniffed again. Ava was still in there somewhere. It was just going to take some time to bring her back.

 

Maggie would wait for that.

**Author's Note:**

> Was based on a prompt from Spineandsanguinity "How do I know you'll come back to me?"


End file.
